It’s going to be great! And though the script isn’t finished yet, I got carried away and started making graphics for it. So below is a still frame of what the Nicolas Cage credit may look like. It’s based mainly on what I thought the credits in the past two movies’ trailers looked like, and it was made completely in After Effects. (click to enlarge)

Obviously it’s not done, but it looks much better in motion. Though the font annoys me a bit… Or maybe it’s just what the font says. Either way, the trailer’s gonna be awesome. So get ready…! Well don’t get ready too soon, we’re still in the scripting phase.



Happy Trails,

Sam.

Most newscasters don’t even attempt pronouncing it, simply calling it “that volcano,” “the volcano in iceland,” or something of the sort. But when they do try, it’s pretty funny! Interestingly, even the Wikipedia pronunciation at the beginning of this first video is party wrong.

Or you could just watch these two ladies fail.



It’s an Icelandic word that literally means “island (eyja) mountain (fjall) glacier (jökull)”. You language-buffs may like to know that fjall is where the English word fell comes from, as in a mountain or hill. Yeah, leave it to them Vikings to make things unnecessarily hard. And just cause they can. The closest way to pronounce it I can think of using random English words is to say “heya fee-yacht-lie you-gut-th” (and say fee-yacht quickly). There’s a good example here. Or you could listen to this awesome Icelandic musician explain it live on tv!

If you were wondering: yes, that song will get stuck in your head. Enjoy! and I hope you’ve learned a little something about Iceland, your lack of language-skills, and the world at large!

Happy Trails and Namaste,
Sam.

I’m sure nearly every one of you who is reading this has heard of the little internet phenomenon known as “Chatroulette“. For those of you who don’t, Chatroulette is basically a website where you video chat with random people throughout the world. The site pairs you with someone, then you click “Next” to move on once you are either bored, confused, or (most likely) grossed out by the other person. It’s very popular among some colleges, 16 year old girls, Germans, and perverts. Most of you have also probably heard the stereotype that Chatroulette is filled with… well… genitalia. I’ve heard many people say it, my friend yesterday told me the site disturbed her, and Jim Groom even commented one class that he was amazed at how many naked people there are on the site. To be honest, I didn’t really believe it. I thought it was just another over generalization about a popular internet site. So of course I had to see for myself!

I can now confirm after using it myself very briefly that this stereotype is absolutely 100% true. Beyond that, I would strongly suggest that you don’t go check it out for yourself, unless you enjoy male genitalia being stuffed in your face literally every third click. Please take our and the rest of the internets’ word on this one. However, I seem to have done the impossible. I made a friend on Chatroulette. Yes. That’s right. I created a legitimate relationship with a normal human being on Chatroulette. In between all the awkward pervert-looking people, overly-contrasted faces in dark rooms, and guys “laying” on their beds, I ran into a really nice girl from Germany. And after a very lengthy translator-assisted conversation even agreed to friend eachother on Facebook. I feel like this should go down as a major turning point in the history of mankind or something.

This is proof that there is a small hope for decency on these mostly creeper-ridden chat websites that are becoming so popular. And I can’t help but hope that interactions such as these are what the sites were originally intended to create. We don’t live in a world where friendships are limited by how far we can walk in a day, we live in the modern age of internet and social media. Despite this hope, it seems as though the perverts will always overrun these sites. It’s because of them that you won’t ever see my face pop up on your Chatroulette screen again. Maybe if stronger blocking/reporting was added to the site. But I’m not gonna hold my breath.

Have any of you ever actually made a friend on Chatroulette or any site like it? I want to know! Leave a comment…



Happy Trails,

Sam.



Addition:
I should probably explain the stereotypes I mentioned earlier. Those being that Chatroulette is popular among 16 year old girls, Germans, and perverts. I say that because consistently I ran into 16 year old girls who said they lived Germany. I don’t know if I just happened to be placed on a server with a bunch of Germans or if Germans just love Chatroulette, but that’s what happened. Also every single German I saw was eating M&Ms. Dunno if it has any significance, but maybe we should add it to The Stereotype List. Oh and why did I say perverts? Well that one should be obvious.